A Bleach Christmas To Remember
by XxLuna CosimaxX
Summary: With her parents out of town, Alex is planning on celebrating Christmas with a her small group of friends. Sadly, she is unaware of the few others that join in from the Soul Society, and now she has to deal with romance addicts, fighting maniacs, and a mistletoe that changes the way she sees a certain Strawberry. Christmas Special. Happy Holidays!


_**As a Christmas present to my readers, this Bleach Christmas Special was written just for you! And since it's a Special, it'll be set aside from the main plot.**_

_**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**_

* * *

Alexandria Rosewood, a 15 year old freshman, was about to experience one of the best Christmases she has ever had. It all started the day before the jolly and merry holiday.

_Christmas Eve_

"Whoa!" Alex stared in awe at the tiny snowflakes falling from the sky and continuously stacking on the others already laid on the ground. Some of the snow rested on her tall, bedroom window's sills. This was her second time seeing snow in general, but it was the first time seeing it up close. She unlocked and pushed open her window to touch the white flurries. Her smile brightened as they fell in her hand and melted from the heat it emitted.

"Miss Alex," Rosa knocked on her employers' daughter's door, tearing the girl's attention away from the beautiful scenery, "You have guests waiting downstairs for you. You must be popular, since there's so many of them!"

A brown eyebrow arched up in confusion, wondering who would be paying her a visit with so many others with them. She sweat dropped and bored a grave look on her face, "These idiots better not break anything while they're here or they're paying for it." Alex dressed herself in a few more layers, since the house wasn't entirely warmed up because of its size and extra space, and hurried downstairs only to face her friends from school and a few others from the Soul Society. _'I might as well just give them a tab right now,' _she mentally sighed. "What are you guys doing here? It's only Christmas Eve."

"True, but your parents said that we could visit for Christmas," Rukia said, unintentionally making Alex even more scared than any other time. "They said this at your birthday, remember?"

"No," her mouth twitched in annoyance as she tried to give a merry expression, "I don't think I was in the room at the time. I'll be sure to _thank _them sometime today." Alex went over to the large group of people, noticing the packed luggage by their side. A tick mark appeared and throbbed on her temple. "Why do you all have bags like you're going somewhere?" In honesty, she didn't want that question to be answered.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head while bearing a bored face, looking the other way to avoid seeing her reaction. "Your parents also mentioned that whoever would decided to visit could stay overnight as an option, with all the extra rooms you guys have and all. So," he stuffed his hands in his coat pockets, "we took the offer. Well actually, I was dragged into this by Rukia and couldn't get out of it, especially since my idiot dad kept urging to go ahead."

"Sleepover!" a little child's voice yelled from the top of the staircase. "Wow, I didn't know there would be so many of you coming!"

"Bobo!" Alex shouted at her sibling-like friend. "You knew about this and didn't even tell me?!"

"Well~," she rubbed the back of her neck, singing in a guilty tone, "I was going to tell you after your birthday party, but I ate a lot of sweets and fell asleep the minute I crashed. I forgot about it the next day and remembered just recently. So . . . surprise!" Even though Bobo tried to lighten the mood, it was useless. Was she surprised? Yes. Did she seem happy or jolly about it? You bet your ass she didn't.

"Aww, don't give us that look, Alex!" Rangiku pouted as she attempted to cheer her up. "Look! I brought some of my good Sake! And I bought some Eggnog on the way here!"

"Rangiku, must you always bring that intoxicating drink with you every time we come to the World of the Living?" Toshiro asked with a twitching eyebrow. Thankfully, he was the only Captain that came along. The house would have been a disaster if any others were there, especially Kenpachi Zaraki. Although, with the other seated officers that did come, it would match the amount of damage the lunatic captain would have caused alone.

Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika as expected came because of Rangiku wanting them to. She thought it wouldn't be a party without those three. And when Rangiku came to town, Orihime would join in with Chad and Uryu. "Why the hell am I the last person to know about this?!"

Renji shrugged and sweat dropped at the death glare Alex gave them. "Well, we uh . . . You wanna take this Captain Hitsugaya?" he whispered to the higher up dressed in casual clothing.

Toshiro heaved a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. "Your parents first told Rukia, and Rukia then told us about the offer. She wanted it to be a surprise, so we kept it a secret." He shot an icy glare to his lieutenant, "And _this _one used that as an excuse to start celebrating with Sake! She still hasn't even cleaned up the mess she made in my office, along with paperwork that needed to be complete!"

"Uh, sorry about that, Captain," Rangiku shrunk back from her young captain as his form was seething with frightening anger. "But don't worry! I'll be sure to get right on both tasks when we get back!" _'If I ever go back,' _she deviously thought in her head. She might as well have as much fun as she could before being thrown in the massive stacks of paperwork she had to do.

Yumichika walked away from the group to admire the pieces of furniture the Rosewoods decorated the house with. "My, my, I never knew you had such exquisite pieces of artwork and décor."

"Can I slap him unconsciousness before he takes my parents' stuff?" Alex stared blankly at him and turned to Toshiro for an 'OK'.

"He's not going to steal anything from your home. I think Yumichika has enough self-control to – Yumichika! Where are you going with that vase?" Toshiro yelled as he watched the 5th seat tip-toe to his bag. "Put it back where you found it," he growled through clenched teeth.

"But it's so beautiful! And our squad's barracks needs a little beauty –."

"Do not make me repeat myself!"

Yumichika's head drooped in defeat as he went back over to the table and placed the silver-gold vase back. Ikkaku rolled his eyes while a wooden sword was resting on his shoulders. "Just give it up, Yumichika. Even if you were successful in smuggling the stupid vase, the Captain would have immediately smashed it into billions of pieces with a single glare."

"Okay, that's enough goofing off!" Alex yelled over them. She stood before them with rules in mind. "Now, since you are under my roof, you will abide by my rules. And since I know most of you will forget about them the second I finish, Toshiro and Ichigo will repeat and remind you of those rules if necessary. Rule #1: you are prohibited from entering any room in the house, except for the kitchen and the selected guest rooms, unless given permission by Ichigo, Toshiro, or myself. Rule #2 –."

"Wait a second," Renji interrupted, "How come Ichigo gets to be the few that gives us permission? I'm a lieutenant, dammit!"

Alex sighed, "And a lieutenant you are, Renji. But knowing you and how curiosity will get the best of you, I'm putting Ichigo in charge instead, since he's had a private tour of everything and is more responsible than you. If you have any other objections, please, take it up with Toshiro." By the scared look on his face, he would surely cooperate and drop it.

"Why is it that you, too, can't ever address me properly? It's _Captain Hitsugaya_!" Toshiro mumbled under his breath.

"Moving on! Rule #2 is pretty simple: do not touch any of the expensive items around this house. And rule #3: no Soul Reaper powers or anything of the sort is allowed on the premises! That includes using your sealed Zanpakuto, Ikkaku, Renji," she shot a look to the two usual suspects, causing them to gulp in fear. "Now that that is out of the way, let me show you to your rooms."

While guiding everyone to their respective guest room, Alex gave them a quick tour of the allowed rooms and areas just in case any of them would ask. She told each person she dropped off about the Secret Santa drawing later on in the afternoon and the Christmas shopping following afterwards. Once Alex's guests were situated in their rooms, she went back to her own to rest for a bit. If only she was warned about the craziness she was to encounter that day and the next, she would have prepared herself for the worst possible case scenarios, like Renji and Ikkaku breaking out into a fight, or Yumichika trying to steal her parents' collection of high-paying décor.

A long, tiring sigh left Alex as she plopped down on her comfortable bed. "I figured I wouldn't have a simple, normal Christmas. It's just too good to be true."

* * *

_Alex's P.O.V._

One hour. That's all I asked for. One hour without having any problems with my friends from school and the Soul Society was all I wanted! But no, there's always something that has to go wrong! For starters, Rangiku and Orihime (both of which that saw Ichigo and I as a cute couple, which I didn't understand it at first because I thought Orihime had this massive crush on him. But I guess she found someone else) has tried countless times to get us under the mistletoe. Their second to last attempt was a sincere close call, for I was a mere foot away from him. One more step and Ichigo could've stolen my first kiss! . . . Okay, so there was a small part of me that wanted it, but I didn't want it to be planned or orchestrated by two romance addicts! But, I knew they would be taking a break from it for a long time after they messed up and almost got Toshiro and I under one. The looks on their faces were priceless!

Another potential troublesome incident was Renji nearly starting a fight with Ichigo after he ate half of the gingerbread house Bobo helped him make. Reason why she was, I still didn't know, even now. I overheard the loud yelling and ran in the kitchen just in time to see Renji lifting the remains of the large cookie home. Luckily, he saw me and gently placed his work back down with a sheepish and 'innocent' smile. Geez, it felt as though I were babysitting these people, except for Toshiro and Ichigo, which were kind of like my helpers.

Anyway, when an hour did pass, I called everyone to the living room and asked that they were dressed and had all that they needed for Christmas shopping. I held a Santa hat that had all of our names in it. Yes, I know, even Bobo had to participate. The possibilities of what she would be getting someone as a present was a list that went on for miles and miles, all being an unfitting match for that person. Nonetheless, she was like family to me, so I added her in it. "Okay, the rules are simple: pick a name from the hat and buy a gift for whoever's Santa you are this year," I explained, receiving a few looks from the Soul Reapers.

"_This _year?" Renji asked. "You mean, we'll be doing this again next year?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's a part of being in the Christmas spirit, so why not?" He was about to answer me when I stopped him then and there. "It's a rhetorical question, Renji. And I really don't want to hear any possible answers to it. Just pick a name so we can head over to the Shopping Center." I went first, and with a stroke of "luck" I picked Ichigo. How the hell was I supposed to know what to get him if he never asked for anything? Great. Just great! After everyone else picked their names, we left my house and went to shop for our presents. Oh, and since my parents were visiting one of our relatives from America living a couple of towns away, they escaped a heartfelt scolding from yours truly.

Orihime and Rangiku asked me if groups were allowed if they weren't each other's Secret Santa. So, because and only because of that reason, I gave everyone the 'OK' and watched as they ran off to the many stores at our fingertips. These were the groups: Uryu and Toshiro, Chad and Bobo, Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika, and of course, Orihime and Rangiku. The only ones left were Rukia, Ichigo, and me. I was Ichigo's Secret Santa, so I purposely paired him up with the petite Soul Reaper. "Good luck with your shopping!" Rukia said to me as I walked away while waving to her and Ichigo.

I sighed for the umpteenth time that day, catching my breath as it was seen through the cold, winter air. "Dammit, Ichigo, why couldn't I just ask you what you wanted instead of looking without any possible ideas?" I mumbled angrily to myself. Stuffing my hands in the light purple coat I wore over my body, I looked around at every store I thought that might have a gift Ichigo would like. None of them really did seem to have anything interesting enough for even myself to get a better look at. I knew it was Christmas Eve and all, but this was ridiculous! I hoped that everyone else was doing better than I was right now. Even they might've had something in mind as to what to get their person as a present!

As I continued searching for what to get for Ichigo, my eyes caught sight of a music store on my left. I was about to walk past it when I had just remembered something. Ichigo has an acoustic guitar in room, though he never did play it that much. But when he did, he actually sounded pretty amazing. I didn't know why he never played it in front of the rest of us. I only remember him playing for his family and myself one time. I wondered why he let me hear him and not anyone else. I shrugged as I thought this. _'I don't think it really matters as long as I know that he plays it.' _He said something about want another one as a back-up in case a few certain Soul Reapers might eventually destroy it. Not break; destroy. Knowing those idiots, it could even be obliterated.

I walked inside the music store and was greeted with a merry "Hello". Surrounding me were instruments belonging to every family I knew of: string, percussion, woodwind, and brass. I looked around the shop before spotting the guitars. Fast-walking over there, my hands instinctively reached up to grab one by the neck. It was a simple black guitar with curved shapes mirroring the other on the front. With the guitar in hand, I walked up to the salesperson and asked if I could add on any other designs. I could, and he said it would normally cost extra. But, since it was the holidays, it was on the house. Thank you, Christmas! I paid for the instrument and asked if he could put the matching black case, which also had an extra design, in a box so it could be wrapped up.

"Well, I found my Secret Santa gift," I sighed in relief as I carried the box out of the store, waving after the clerk and saying, "Merry Christmas!" He replied with the same words and went back to the other customers either looking around or also doing last minute Christmas presents. As I went down the sidewalk, I spotted Rukia at a café Bobo and I went to a couple of months ago. I think it was in June when I stayed home because of _that_. She saw me as well and motioned for me to come over and have a drink with her.

"So, you're finished with your Christmas shopping, too?" she asked me after sipping her hot chocolate with caramel syrup.

I nodded and asked a waitress if I could also have one but with whipped cream and both chocolate and caramel syrup. "I am. It took me a while to figure out what to get them, but I managed and came out victorious. That is if they like it," I breathed out while leaning on the back of my hand. "By the way, whose Secret Santa are you?"

She shook her head as she wagged her finger. "I'm not saying anything unless you tell me whose Secret Santa _you're _supposed to be!"

"Alright, alright," I gave in, not really feeling up to arguing back and forth with my petite friend. "It's Ichigo." I didn't know why, but my cheeks felt hot for a second there, and it wasn't because of the hot chocolate, which by the way was so darn delicious!

"Oh~, Ichigo, huh?" she teased as she noticed the blush on my face. "So, you DO have a thing for him!"

"I do not! Don't start acting like Orihime and Rangiku on me! I already had enough of that crap this morning when they tried to –."

"Get you and Ichigo under the mistletoe?" she finished for me. She saw the confused look on my face and smirked. "I knew about that even before it happened."

It took me a minute to register what she said into my brain. After putting the pieces together, "Wait, _you _told them to do that? What the hell, Rukia?! That is not cool at all!" I shouted angrily at her, but the blush on my face made it sound less convincing.

"Oh, calm down. You should be thanking us for our efforts in getting you two together, since both of you are too scared to do it yourselves."

"What?! That is absolutely not –!"

"Why the hell are you yelling? I could hear you five friggin' blocks away!"

My mouth shut itself closed as I turned around to see a scowling Carrot Top headed toward us with an already wrapped up gift in the crook of his elbow. "Ichigo, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, after I bought my gift, I went to look for Rukia once I saw that she wandered off, _again_," he shot a glare at Rukia while she innocently took a long sip of her steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Don't act innocent, dammit!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was only looking at something behind a glass window. It's _your _fault that you weren't paying attention and watching out for your shopping buddy!"

"_My _fault? How the hell is it my fault?!"

"Shut up, Ichigo!" I yelled over them. "Just say that you're sorry so we can meet up with the rest! I just got a text from Uryu saying that they're ready to head back to my place." I stood up with my unfinished drink and present before walking toward the Center's entrance. The hot chocolate was in a to-go cup, so I could save it for later if I wanted to.

I heard Ichigo roughly sigh as he apologized to Rukia. She happily accepted it, and they both followed in suit as we met up with everyone else and left for my house. After we got back, we ate dinner and retired to our rooms. Well, most of us.

I didn't know what was wrong with my luck, but whoever was pulling the strings must have been having a kick-ass time at my expense, because Ichigo and I were the ones left to clean up. _'Why the hell is it always Ichigo? Why not Toshiro? Yeah, I know, but damn!' _

Anyway, I was stuck with the lug-nut for nearly an hour. Why was it an hour, you ask? Because even after we were done cleaning up, we somehow both wanted to watch T.V. before calling it a night. Damn my friggin' luck! Why didn't I just watch the T.V. in my room? And didn't he have one, too? What made it worse was the silence that lingered over us. He didn't mind the silence, since he always wished for peace and quiet like this when dealing with his Soul Reaper buddies, but it was eating me alive. Even with the show we watched filling up most of the silence, it still felt too quiet.

I dug around in my head for a conversation starter, looking around the spacious living room in the process. My green eyes widened so big at what I saw that it was the same size as the moon outside. _'How the hell . . .?' _Above Ichigo and I was the cursed mistletoe the romance fanatics tried so hard to successfully get us under. It hung on a mile long, invisible string with the other end sticking to the ceiling. Clearly, one of them broke rule No. 3 to get it up there, because the only ladder that could possibly get the job done was one from a fire truck. And if they were somehow able to get their hands on that, then this meant trouble for everyone, for they have their hidden sources on their side.

I snapped my head back down and tried to focus on the program that was playing. I couldn't let myself seem suspicious about the white berried branch. And then the possible scenarios came to mind. If I didn't kiss him, I would have bad luck, which I think I already had enough of. But if I did kiss him . . . frankly, I had no idea what would happen if we kissed. My curiosity was beginning to get the best of me, so I forced my lips to stay firm and shut. I sat on my hands in case they would send hints to him about the hanging mistletoe. _'How long was this damned show anyway? Is it a friggin' Christmas special or something? It's been two hours!'_

Whether or not I noticed Ichigo watching me from the corner of his eye, I still heard him say, "I already know about the mistletoe."

. . . Mother-. "Are you kidding me?! Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be under this thing? I felt as if I was going to explode! Why didn't your ass say something about it earlier?" I yelled at him as his hair was blown back from my anime enhanced voice.

"Just because we're under the mistletoe, it doesn't mean we have to follow the tradition. I'm choosing not to, so calm down." How the hell was I supposed to be calm while he's just sitting there not realizing that he could be my first kiss?! Wait, he's never kissed either . . . _'DAMN IT ALL!' _I comically screamed in my head.

"Look, if we don't, then it means bad luck, and I already had my share of it plenty of times this year since June!" I jabbed a finger at my chest, still yelling at the bored faced idiot watching the big screened television. Did he not care about my luck? Well, I didn't care so much about it either, but this romance crap needed to stop! "Okay, how about this? We –."

All I remembered was Ichigo sighing and leaning over to press his lips against mine, most likely to shut me up from my constant rambling. It wasn't rough and passionate, or deep and lustful, but it was soft, gentle, and sweet. And no, there was no damn tongue! Just closed lips pressed against the others'. He held the kiss there for at least ten seconds before pulling back and sitting against the couch's cushion again. "Tell anyone I did that and I'll kick your ass." I couldn't believe that he did and said all that without a single hint of a blush on his cheeks. Wow.

"Um . . . Ichigo," he brought his eyes on me without turning his head. "Wasn't that your first kiss? I mean, I'll admit that that was mine, but what about you?"

"It was. So what?"

"Well . . . damn!" I threw my hands up in the air and over my head. "Aren't you gonna say something about it? I'm not saying it should be well thought out and heartfelt, but seriously! And what the hell makes you think you can kick my ass?!"

". . ." He sat there while staring back at the T.V. I couldn't tell if he was thinking about it or just flat out ignored me. If it was the latter, I'll surely give him what I think tomorrow, the dumbass ninny. "It was nice."

It was nice. Why did that make me blush like a bleeding pomegranate? Maybe it's because he used the word "nice" to describe a lot of things about me, like the dress and the locket he gave me for my birthday. After a little more thought on it, I smiled and chuckled as I got up from the couch, stretching my arms out. "Goodnight, Ichigo," I said while heading upstairs to my room. As I left, I heard him say, "Night, Alex." Ichigo, you're a strange dumbass, you know that?

* * *

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I heard Bobo shout throughout the halls outside of my room. At first, I wanted to slam one of pillows on my head and try to go back to sleep, but the mention of "Christmas" had got me to thinking that it was, of course, Christmas Day. With this in mind, I shot up with a bright smile growing on my face. I dashed out of my room, checking to see if anyone was already at the Christmas tree in the most visited living room looking for their gift. Seeing that a certain Strawberry wasn't down there, (and I was surprised to see the child prodigy up and about) I ran to his bedroom and carefully opened the door. He was still fast asleep in his queen-or king-sized bed, unaware of the mischievous mind of mine that whirled with ideas and ways of waking him up. _'I'll go easy on him, since it is Christmas.'_

I tip-toed over to his bed and looked at his sleeping face. He seemed so peaceful and at ease as his chest gently rose and fell with each breath he took. I wished that I left him alone like that . . . Who am I kidding? He needed to wake his ass up. I didn't care if he had sweet, blissful dreams. He was going to get up, and that's final. "Ichigo, wake up," I started out with a gentle shake, thinking that he was a light sleeper. "Ichigo, come on, it's Christmas." Okay, so maybe he wasn't a light sleeper. Well, time for the big guns. I cracked my knuckles before getting a good grip on one side of the mattress. Smirking, I flipped Ichigo off of the bed and watched as he rolled off and fell on the other side.

I ran over to where he fell and smiled, but it was wiped off of my face when I saw that he was _still _fast asleep. "Alright, you asked it." I held my hands up as I walked over to the door, stopping right before it. Sometimes, before I came to this universe, if flipping the bed wouldn't work for my mom when she tried waking me up, this was to be her last resort. I quickly ran toward bed to jump on it, went up, and landed smack down on Ichigo. And since he was lying on his back, it was even more effective.

A loud grunt came out of the now awake Ichigo as he tried to get his hands from under the sheets, or probably move at all from the pain I gave him. I may seem average sized, but don't let that fool you, because I was pretty heavy. "Are you awake yet?!" I smiled while yelling in his ear.

"Get off," he simply demanded in a tired voice. I did so and waited to see if he would either get up himself or try going back to bed. He sat up while wiping off his tired face, obviously making the right choice. He wore his white, long sleeve shirt and dark blue pants with arrows going down the side. I had on long black shorts and a red and green, short sleeved shirt that was half tight-fitted.

"Merry Christmas," I said in a softer voice aside from my loud, booming yells.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," he replied with the same tiresome tone.

"Well, since you're finally awake, hurry up so you can see what you got from your Secret Santa!" I pulled on his arm and smiled as he gave up and allowed me to drag him out of his room. We went downstairs and joined the others as they were sweet enough to wait for us before opening any presents. We all said our Merry Christmases and dived in the gifts sitting under the tall, bushy tree dressed with Christmas decorations, such as ornaments, lights, edible candy canes, you name it!

Rukia was the first to open her gift and stared wide eyed at the beauty inside the box. "It's a stuffed bunny dressed up in a princess outfit. It even has a tiara with bunnies on it, too!" She hugged the decent sized present dearly and never wanted to let go.

"Merry Christmas, Rukia!" Orihime said as she crouched down beside her to indicate that she was her Secret Santa. "I'm glad you like it. And look: you can wear the tiara yourself!" She carefully took the headpiece off of the stuffed animal and put it on Rukia's head.

Rukia was getting teary eyed and hugged Orihime in a comical fashion. "It's the best gift I ever had! Thank you so much, Orihime!"

"Okay, Captain, you're up next!" Rangiku clapped her hands in glee as Toshiro looked for his gift. He opened it up to find an mp3 player with a watermelon design on the back. "Merry Christmas, Captain! The music will help keep out any noise while you take your naps!"

He examined the device closely before smirking at his subordinate. "I guess you're not so air-headed after all, although, I do have my suspicions as to whether or not you're giving this to me so that I can't hear you sneaking in and hiding your Sake in my office."

"Aww, thank you!" she squeezed the poor boy into her large cleavage as her bosom nearly suffocated him, ignoring the last part. Luckily, Rukia and I got him out of the Death Hug before any of that would happen.

Down the list we went as everyone opened their presents, and they were all truly grateful for them. Well, except for Renji, since he got a pair of pineapple shades and a simple, silver chained necklace with a silver pineapple in the center. At least he seemed to favor the necklace more than the glasses. I caught Bobo giggling away at how silly he looked in the shades, getting a laugh out of it myself as did everyone, especially from how Renji reacted.

Yumichika got a mirror with a gorgeous metallic design on the back and the borders of the frame; Ikkaku received a new practice sword; Uryu loved his new sewing kit, and Chad tried to hide his cute stuffed lion, since he did have a soft spot for them. Orihime and Rangiku's presents were matching outfits they changed in right after getting them, and Bobo was given a new pair of sparkling boots with a matching pink bunny hat.

Two gifts, aside from the ones belonging to my other friends and family that couldn't make it, were left under the tree. They were made out to me and Ichigo, both sitting near each other. I closed my eyes for a moment before reopening them and kneeling down to pick up the present. The pretty royal blue wrapping paper was ripped off as I opened the box, looked inside, and was shocked (in a good way). On top were a pair of beautiful, twist hollow drop hook earrings and a white choker with a blue rhinestone cabochon with a little key dangling from the bottom. Beneath the pieces of jewelry was a pale blue, sleeveless dress with two thick straps and sweetheart neckline. A black bow was tied around the waist as the dress seemed like it stopped at my knees. I dropped my hands back in the box and turned to Ichigo while he was looking away, scratching the back of his head. "Hey. Hey, Strawberry," he sighed and turned to face me, "Thank you."

"Merry Christmas," he flatly replied. I knew he was smiling underneath that scowl of his, way, way, _way _deep down. Well, he wasn't known for showing his feelings and whatnot, now was he?

I stared at him and pointed at the final gift sitting near his feet. "Come on, you know you wanna open it and see what's inside~!"

"Shut up, will you?" he said. With the scowl still plastered on his features, Ichigo opened my present and had his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Damn," Ichigo quietly said, examining the guitar in his hands. It had a silver '15' design imprinted on the top of the case and on the guitar itself as the addition I requested.

"I didn't know you played the guitar, Ichigo," Rukia looked over his shoulder at his present. "You have one in your room, but I've never seen you play it."

"That's because all of you are destructive in some sort of way and end up breaking and destroying half the things in my room that I do use. You even broke my damn light!"

"Hey, that was those four idiots' fault that time!" Rukia pointed an accusing finger to Rangiku and her posse.

They threw their hands up in defeat, already retorting back and starting a huge argument that soon sucked in Toshiro, which then made Uryu and Orihime attempt to break it up. Chad stayed out of it by silently turning on the T.V. while Bobo ran around the room (since she wasn't allowed to fly) with her new hat on. I for one left the scene and went in the kitchen to make a Christmas breakfast, or brunch since it was late morning/early afternoon.

I heard someone else following and turned around to see that it was Ichigo. "Let me guess; you're trying to get away from the noise, too?"

"I still have a headache from you yelling in my ear," he said and walked around me to enter the kitchen.

"Then next time, wake your heavy ass up the first time I try to wake you up!" I argued while walking after him. I was about to add something else until I noticed that he froze just a few inches on the other side of the kitchen doorway. "Now what's wrong? What, did I end up making your stomach ache from –?"

Ichigo pulled me into a kiss and cut me off mid-sentence with his arms gently holding my hips. I reflexively closed my eyes as my hands went up a little before resting on his arms. He slowly broke away with a straight face, no smile or scowl, and looked up. This made me look up as well, only to give the darn object a gentle shake of my head. _'This thing is causing too much trouble.'_

"Mistletoe," Ichigo said, bringing me out of my thoughts. He was still holding me, but I let him be. So, _now _he wants to follow the tradition, that idiot ninny.

"I wonder who put it up this time."

"Don't know, don't care." I knew fully well that that was a legit smirk on his face, and I don't care what you say! He went in for another kiss as my cheeks became a dark red. A flash of a camera broke the short kiss. A certain busty Soul Reaper waved the picture in the air with a mischievous grin.

"I can't wait to frame _this_ and show it to every back in the Seireitei!"

Well, our peace and quiet was nice while it lasted. And this time, _we _started the noise while running after Rangiku in a comical manner. "Rangiku!" So this is how Toshiro felt when dealing with his lieutenant.

* * *

_**Merry Christmas Everyone! **_


End file.
